


Sam and Samuel’s journey in Spiritland

by Acaseofbones



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Gen, Spirited Away - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 13:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6756667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acaseofbones/pseuds/Acaseofbones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Winchesters were moving, again, and Sam wasn't happy about it. And to make it worse, his dad took a wrong turn and they ended in a forest, blocked by a strange totem guarding a tunnel. And of course, his dad and brother had to go explore it, leading them all somewhere that Sam was sure wasn't Nebraska anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thi is a fic I wrote back in 2011 for the 2nd round of [SPN_Cinema](http://spn-cinema.livejournal.com). I had been cheered on by my friend Nataku and betaed by [Cleflink](http://cleflink.livejournal.com).
> 
> It's a fusion with Spirited Away which is on of my favourite movies. 
> 
> Mary died in a fire when Sam was around 5. John and the boys move often.

_Remember your name_

_Do not lose hope – what you seek will be found_

_Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn._

_Trust dreams._

_Trust your heart, and trust your story._

Instruction - Neil Gaiman

 

They were moving again, their few possessions crammed in the trunk of the Impala. Some bags were piled on the floor and on the back seat next to Sam. Legs propped on them, a book clutched to his chest, the teenager was lying on his back, glaring at the roof of the car, ignoring the landscape passing by the window. Why did they have to move again? He had made friends. He had thought that this time, finally… but no, they were moving again, Crossing Indiana, Illinois and Iowa to reach Nebraska. What was in Nebraska anyway? “Why?”

Sam could see the shoulders of his father tensing out of the corner of his eye. He answered in his gruff voice. “We already talked about that, Sam.”

“Your father… he looks like a bear,” Fiona had said the first time his friends had met him.

“More like a grizzly bear, yeah.” Sôsuke had added. Sam had nodded. His father could pass for a grizzly bear, what with the hair, the beard, the voice, the attitude…

“What about my brother then?” he had asked and Fiona had hummed softly.

“A friendlier bear? One who knows how to talk?” Sam had nodded again. Dean sure knew how to talk his way around every situation but still was a bear, especially in the morning.

“And me?” They had both look at him, faking deep concentration before grinning at him.

“You’re Sammy the Pooh!” Sam had snorted and silently prayed that his brother would never hear this.

 _We already talked about that_ , Sam mimicked making a face. Something hit him on the head and he yelped. Recognizing the yellow of a bag of M&M’s, he glared at his brother who was halfway turned toward him. “Grumpy Sammy’s hungry, huh!” Sam made a face at him but Dean just laughed. “Eat bitch. We still have ten hours before we arrive.”

“Shut up, jerk,” came the automatic answer which in turn prompted a “Boys!” from their father.

 

            Sam sighed. They still weren’t there. “Two hours or so,” Dean had said before folding the map and putting on his headphones. Sam gazed a moment at his brother’s neck, the skin tanned a light gold by all his time outdoors. He then turned to the book he was still clutching against his chest. _The Hobbit_ said the cover. Mr. Wyatt had given it to him on his last day of school as a farewell gift. Opening the book, he grabbed the card that was tucked inside.

 

_To Samuel Winchester,_

_May this journey accompany you on yours,_

_Bill Wyatt_

 

Sam sighed again.

“We know Sam, so stop sighing for Pete’s sake.” The teen glared at his father and then at his brother for good measure. The jerk was surely smirking anyway. Looking at the small card one more time, he shifted to put it in his jean’s pocket and then started reading.

            He was roused from his book when he felt the car slow down. They couldn’t have arrived already. He remembered vaguely Dean indicating Dad to take the next freeway exit. Sitting again, Sam noticed the roadwork signs. His father grunted and followed the arrow marked detour while Dean unfolded the map. Both Sam and his father groaned when Dean announced “It’ll take another hour to get there but if we’re lucky, it will still be daylight.” Great. Sam slumped down on the bags next to him, looking hazily at the scenery by the window, slowly falling asleep.

 

            He heard his brother, the one bear that had learned to talk, speaking with someone. Directions were given and the car started moving again. Sam shifted, angling himself so that he was laying half against the bags and half against the back seat. He looked through bleary eyes as the shops of the city they were passing through turned into houses, then fields, then trees. After a turn, the car started to jolt as if the road they were on was less (or not at all) kept up. Or as if asphalt was nonexistent. Their new house was in the middle of nowhere. Fantastic! Too tired to vocalize his thoughts, Sam let his opinion be known by another sigh. “Well, look on the bright side, Sammy, maybe you’ll have the bike you always wanted so much,” Dean smirked. Two years too late. Sam thought about smacking Dean’s head but something outside caught his attention.

            A short wooden statue covered by moss was standing on the side of the road. The features were almost completely erased by time but the smile had stayed. Sam straightened and kept looking through the rear window at the totem as it grew smaller.

            “Did you see that?” he asked, leaning over the front seat between his dad and brother. Dean was looking at the map again, displeasure written on his face.

“No, Sam, I… Dad, I think we took a wrong turn and...” Both boys were startled when John suddenly hit the brake. Some kind of totem, another one, was standing in the middle of the path. A few steps behind that, Sam could see an old rickety wooden gate and then what looked like a tunnel made of trees.

            A shiver ran down Sam’s spine and he looked in disbelief as his father and brother exited the car and walked to the gate. Not wanting to stay alone, Sam got out of the car too and followed them but stopped at the totem. Rocking on the balls of his feet, fists clenched, Sam tried to ignore the feeling of uneasiness growing inside him but the sharp cry of a bird broke his resolve. “I really don’t feel good about this. Shouldn’t we go back before it goes dark?” Dean turned around and grinned at him.

“Don’t be chicken, Sammy. Come on.” Sam was about to reply but his brother had turned again, humming the Indiana Jones theme and following their father who had opened the gate.

            Sam looked at the totem on his right. A bird was resting on the head of another animal standing on his rear legs. It was a big feline, a cougar maybe. _‘A bear’_ he heard Fiona say in his head. It was smiling too, but Sam found nothing reassuring in it. Looking up front again, he saw his father and brother walking into the tree tunnel and, after a second of hesitation, jogged to catch them up.

“Watch out, Sammy,” hissed his brother when he almost ran into him.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” said Sam, staying close to his big brother. He looked back and felt anguish built inside of him as he noticed that he could barely see the gate, the totem and the Impala behind. Clenching his fists, Sam faced forward again.

            The tunnel was dark and seemed like it went on forever. Sam felt like they had walked for an hour when his digital watch told him that only ten minutes had passed. The path started to clear then and they found themselves in a vast meadow. Green grass stretched all around and there were short totems and other statues standing along the trail that Dean and John kept on following.

            Sam’s anxiety swirled in his stomach and he looked back once more only to see a few trees and the darkness of the tunnel they had come through. Not wanting to stay alone, Sam ran again to his brother and father but kept looking around him.

            Something wasn’t right, Sam knew it and it wasn’t just the absence of any sound, the ruined houses he spotted in the prairies or sculptures of various styles, subjects and origins they passed. It was something he couldn’t explain, a ball in his stomach, a ringing at the back of his head. The more he walked, the more he wanted to go back, but Dean and John were still going on as if the more they walked the more curious they became about what could be at the end of the path.

            Finally, they crossed a dry riverbed, stepping on wide rounded stones, and stopped at the bottom of a staircase on the other side. Smells of food assaulted them and, while it made Sam fidget, bad feelings multiplied tenfold, his father and brother seemed pleased and started climbing the stairs. Suppressing a groan, Sam followed them, astounded at the sight of the street they came onto.

            All around them were two or three-story buildings painted in bright colors – blue, green, purple, orange – all their architectures different as though someone had taken New Orleans residences, western saloons, Chinese houses, Arabian palaces, mixed them all together and thrown them onto a map like dice. Paper lanterns and flags of all origins were hanging from balconies and across the street, swaying in the breeze that conveyed smells of food. Most of the buildings seemed to be restaurants, names and signs written in all kind of languages, plates full of all sorts of food crowding the tables. There was something exhilarating and joyful about the street and Sam was sure it could have been a fun place if his father, brother and he weren’t the only people around and if the silence wasn’t so heavy. The more Sam looked around the more his chest constricted.

            The strangeness of the place didn’t seem to bother Dean and John who had walked toward one of the restaurants. Sam tried to call them but no sound came out of his mouth so he ran toward them. Getting closer to his family, Sam felt like he could breathe more easily and he shamelessly reached for his brother. “Can we leave now? This place creeps me out. It’s like… a ghost town.” Dean laughed and batted Sam’s hand away.

“You’re a total wuss, Sammy. The food couldn’t have cooked itself so it’s not a ghost town. Hello, anybody here?” Dean yelled the last part, already sitting down next to their father at a table covered in hamburgers, French fries, cokes and beers.

“We’ll pay when they get back. Sam, sit down and eat.” Sam turned toward his father in disbelief. He was drinking a bottle of beer and putting food in his plate with his free hand and Dean was halfway through a cheeseburger. Sam would have started a rant on the rudeness of it if he could have shaken out the bad feeling cramping his stomach.

            Stepping back, he looked around but there was still no one to be seen. At the end of the street, at the top of another staircase, a clock on a bright red pole caught his eyes. Sam walked slowly towards it, putting a hand on the colored metal as he moved to stand by its side. There was a wooden bridge in front of him that was made of the same red as the pole and a huge building on the other side. It looked like those old houses in Georgia, with white façades, columns and balconies, except it had more stories than usual.

            Sam felt the urge to leave the place again but the horn of a bus broke the silence and he walked to the bridge, looking over the parapet. The ground was a good mile down and, on a road raised on a mound, a bus was travelling, headlights lighting the way. It honked again, the sound echoing all the way up. Sam watched it disappear into the first light of sunset. The sight of the bus, and the thought of people in it, was reassuring: it was something he knew, a familiar mark. The sight had somewhat calmed him but he straightened suddenly, the heavy feeling of someone watching him making him shiver.

            Turning around he saw a young man eyeing him with suspicion a few feet away from him. He looked barely older than Dean, with dark tousled hair and blue eyes that darkened with irritation. “You are not supposed to be here. Leave right this instant.”

“What?” blurted Sam, surprised by the angry tone.

“It’s almost night. You have to leave before it’s completely dark,” the young man continued while walking toward Sam. The teenager looked up at the sky and gasped. He was sure that the sun had just started to set a few moment ago but the sky was already half dark, blue turning a deeper shade quickly. Sam snapped out of his observations when a hand gripped his shoulder. The young man turned him around easily and pushed him forward. “Run, you have to get to the other side of the bridge.”

            There was something in the stranger’s voice, something like thunder and Larsen, something imperious that made Sam start running without looking back. He crossed the bridge quickly, went down the stairs two steps at a time while the lanterns in the street below flickered to life. He ran to the restaurant where he had left his brother and father and bumped into Dean, gripping his arm for balance. “Dean!” He tried to pull his brother, yelling at his dad’s leather-covered shoulders. A puff of warm air on his face made him turn his head toward his brother and he let go with a yelp, stumbling backward.

It wasn’t Dean. It wasn’t his dad either. Two bears were looking at him, blinking slowly, and Sam started running again. He ran to the end of the street, barely noticing the shadows turning more and more corporeal around him. He ran down the stairs but had to stop abrutply. Where there had been a field and a dry riverbed there was now a lake where the lanterns of boats were reflected on the dark water. The sky was dark too, the first stars piercing the night shyly while Sam was trying to catch his breath, his thoughts, his everything.

            What now? What should he do? Where should he go? Sam looked at the boats coming closer with wide eyes that widened even more when, after combing his hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture he noticed he could see through it. It was becoming transparent, as was his other hand when he raised it too, the tip of his fingers almost completely invisible while the color of his wrists was just starting to disappear. Just then, the boats docked with a long hooting sound and Sam snapped out of his stupor and ran again. He went to his right, jumped into the bushes that bordered the staircase and huddled up.

Peeking through the foliage, he could see the gangways being pulled down and passengers leaving the boats but, while some of them looked human, others didn’t at all. There were swarm of lights buzzing around like glowworms followed by satyrs and leprechauns. Some creatures with red faces and long noses came after that and Sam was sure a bunch of seals had changed into human form between two boats. He felt again the sensation of being watched and turned his head to stare into pale blue eyes. The man was tall, maybe taller than his dad, with pale skin, long blond hair and fangs that grew longer as he smiled.

Sam scrambled further back into the bushes and yelped when he felt a hand gripping his shoulder once again. Turning slowly, he released a shaky breath when he saw the young man fromf before smiling gently at him. There was a nagging voice in the back of Sam’s head saying that he should still be cautious, but the warmth of the hand on his shoulder calmed him a little. His voice was still unsteady when he felt like talking again.

“Where am I? What is this?” he asked, eyes locked with the stranger’s.

“Not your world anymore. Drink this or you will disappear completely.” The young man thrust a vial filled with a clear liquid in front of Sam who eyed it suspiciously. “You will not be transformed into a bear,” the stranger added, moving the vial closer. Sorrow crept into Sam’s heart and he took the vial in his almost invisible hand. He drunk it and was happy to see his fingers again as he gave the vial back.

However, the feeling didn’t last. “It was them that I saw, huh? The bears… it was my brother and father wasn’t it?” asked Sam to his new friend as they retreated out of the bushes.

“Unfortunately, yes. But we don’t have time. Come, follow…” The young man stopped abruptly and stepped back close to Sam as if hiding him from something. Sam opened his mouth but a hand was put in front of it. The tension coming from his friend made Sam stand immobile and alert.

The sound came first, the stomp of a heavy mass hitting the ground, a low growl interrupted by sniffing noises like an animal searching for something. The smell came shortly after the growling had come nearer. A horrid smell of rotten eggs made Sam gag. He closed his eyes and willed himself unnoticeable, his body tensing more and more as the seconds went by as slowly as snails.

When finally the animal went away, the young man took back his hands and gripped Sam’s elbow. “He is looking for you. We must hurry.” He was up and running the next instant. They were going fast, too fast to be normal, houses and lights blurring together, and Sam felt like he was a kite a second away from rising into the sky. They zigzagged between all the creatures walking in the street and entering or leaving restaurants, then stopped a moment when they reached the bridge where they had met.

The young man, still gripping Sam’s elbow, walked directly to the two creatures greeting the crowd of other… things… crossing the bridge and spoke to them too quickly for Sam to figure what they were and what they were saying. The older boy then turned to him. “We are going to cross that bridge. You must hold your breath while doing it or you will be discovered. Do you understand me?” Sam nodded and barely had time to take a deep breath before they started walking again.

Crossing the bridge seemed to take forever. Sam was looking straight ahead, afraid to forget to hold his breath if he looked at the entities walking by his side. He had to put his hand in front of his mouth and nose halfway across when holding his breath became more difficult. They were almost at the end, two steps away from landing on the other side of the bridge when Sam couldn’t hold his breath anymore and exhaled. A creature like the ones that stood at the beginning of the bridge pointed at him and opened his mouth but, before he could talk, Sam’s friend touched its forehead and the creature collapsed on the ground.

They didn’t lose time waiting to see what would happen. The young man dragged Sam on the side, behind a hedge and into a small garden in front of the house where they crouched behind a shrub of azaleas. Light was pouring from the windows, silhouettes starting running behind them as they heard someone yelling that a human had been spotted. Sam tried to apologize but his friend put a finger on his lips. “We don’t have time. You can’t stay here long or they will find you.” The young man looked briefly at the windows. Behind them, people were still running, shouting at each other about the human that had to be found. “I’ll keep them occupied while you run away,” continued the older boy. Sam tensed at the thought of being alone again.

“You can’t. You can’t leave me like this.” Sam voice was slightly quivering and he wanted nothing more than to grab the young man and never let him go. The older boy looked at him with gentle eyes.

“I am sorry, but it is the only solution if you want to survive in this world and save your father and brother.” Sam stared back with sad eyes.

“So they really turned into bears. All that… it’s not a nightmare, is it?” The young man didn’t answer.

They stayed silent a few seconds before the older boy reached out a hand to put two fingers to Sam’s forehead. “When no one is around, you will take the back door behind you. There is a staircase going down. Take it. It will lead you to a corridor and then to the boiler room. There is a man there, he is called Bobby. You must talk to him.” As he was told directions, a picture of the path to follow appeared in Sam’s head, leaving him a bit dizzy when his friend pulled back.

“Backdoor, staircase, corridor, boiler room, Bobby,” repeated Sam.

“Tell him you want to work for him. You might have to argue until he caves. If you can’t convince him, Crowley will change you into an animal.”

“Crowley?”

“He is the owner of this establishment. He can’t do anything if you are working here. But you must know that he and Bobby will try their best to make you leave. You must resist. Do you understand?” Sam nodded, trying to will down his anxiety. “And you have to remember, you must trust me, Samuel, I am your friend.” Sam started to nod but froze.

“How do you know my name? And what’s yours?”

“Because I have known you since you were a little boy. As for me, my name is Cas.”


	2. Chapitre 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters were moving, again, and Sam wasn't happy about it. And to make it worse, his dad took a wrong turn and they ended in a forest, blocked by a strange totem guarding a tunnel. And of course, his dad and brother had to go explore it, leading them all somewhere that Sam was sure wasn't Nebraska anymore.

After Cas had left, opening one of the window to get inside the house, Sam counted to fifty and, when no more galloping and yelling could be heard from this side of the house, he stood up. Careful to stay in the shadows, he walked to the back door. He opened it cautiously and stood there, breathing deeply in and out as he looked at the space in front of him. Turning his head on the right, he saw a rickety staircase going down by the side of the building. Some steps were just beams coming out of the wall, others were made of stone but looked ready to collapse if anyone, even a mouse, stepped on it. The guardrail was non-existent and, in the night, Sam could barely guess where the landing was.

 _‘You chicken, Sammy?’_ Dean voice said in Sam’s head and the teen tried not to think of the brown bear wearing his brother’s clothes. “No, I’m not,” Sam whispered and started his descent. There were a couple of close calls when part of a step went down under Sam’s feet or when a gust of wind almost tipped him off balance. He had to flatten himself again the wall and wait a few seconds before going down again.

When he reached the end of the staircase and saw the corridor, he almost jogged to the other side of it, crouching down and taking deep breaths. He tried to listen to any noise coming from the door a few feet away from him but could just make a few clicking sounds. Standing up, he turned the knob of the door and was hit by a wave of heat. The place was barely lit but seemed huge, filled with machines, turbines and motors. Pistons were going up and down and clouds of steam escaped in a whooshing sound. Sam could at first barely make out what the things moving around the engines were but, after taking a few steps into the room, he gasped. Tiny ghosts, like the ones you see in Pacman games, were checking the machines, repairing them, fetching tools…

Sam took one more step, tried to start a conversation with an eloquent “um” and all the ghosts looked at him before disappearing, their burdens falling on the floor in a cacophonous ensemble.

“What the hell is happening down there? Get back to work you idjits!” roared a voice. Sam jerked back and looked up at where the voice had come from. Sitting in a wheelchair perched on a platform was a bearded man wearing a baseball cap and a flannel shirt. As the old man kept barking orders at the reappearing ghosts, Sam walked slowly toward the man who had to be the Bobby Cas had told him about.

“Sir?” Sam asked but the man was still yelling at the ghosts. “Excuse me sir?”

“What ag…” Bobby turned toward Sam and stopped, frowning. “Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing here?” Sam almost stepped back but clenched his fists and stood his ground.

“Cas told me to come here. I need a job.”

“What?” Bobby was hunched over the guardrail looking at him. Sam looked back, trying to think this was just like any other fight he had with his dad, except for all the ghosts gathering a few feet away around him. They scampered away when Bobby started yelling again. “Get back to work you lazy sods. And you,” he added in Sam’s direction. “Why do you think you can help me in any way? I’ve got ghosts by the dozen and when one disappears for good, ten more appear. They can go places you can’t so get away from my boiler room.” The old man’s voice was becoming louder and louder and he then turned around, grumbling about kids nowadays, his wheelchair and other things Sam didn’t understand. The teen stayed immobile for moment but took another step toward Bobby.

“Sir, I real…”

“Get out!” Sam scampered backward at the outburst. He could swear the old man had double in size as he loomed over him, lightning in his eyes and thunder in his voice.

The illusion was broken when Bobby howled at some ghost to move ass. Sam was ready to try again, his stubbornness taking over his fear when he heard the sound of a tool falling on the floor behind him. Turning around, he looked in surprise at the ghost attempting to lift a wrench. One quick look behind his shoulder told Sam Bobby hadn’t notice and the teen bent down to take the tool. He was about to give it back when the ghost disappeared. The teen glanced around, not knowing what to do and he jumped when Bobby started yelling again. “Well don’t stand there like a moron, those damn bolts aren’t going to tighten themselves.”

Sam closed his mouth, fighting the urge to talk back and walked with determination to the closest engine. He stopped when a ghost gripped his arm, sending shills through his body and making the fine hair of his arms and the back of his neck stand up. The tiny spirit hovered near him and pointed in the opposite direction. Sam felt himself turn red and bowed his head as he walked past Bobby’s platform. He followed the ghost and sighed when he was led to some kind of motor. For the first time, he wished he had put his books down and attended in his father’s car lessons at least once. Fortunately, before he could screw up the engine, another voice filled the room.

“Hey grumpy, time for food.”

Sam turned around. A blond girl in blue coveralls who seemed just a bit younger than him jumped to Bobby’s platform, a wicker basket under one arm. She looked shocked when she noticed him, pointing at him without any shame. “What is he doing here? There are all searching for him upstairs.” Bobby slapped her head and peered in the basket.

“Stop pointing. He’s my grandson, Wants a job but I don’t need him down here. Could you take him to Crowley, Jo?” The girl eyed Bobby with suspicion.

“You sure about that old man?”

“Yes I’m sure and you better watch that attitude or…”

“Or what?”

“Or…”

“Excuse me?”

Jo and Bobby turned toward Sam who had walked closer to the platform. Jo shrugged and jumped down to the ground. “Fine I’ll do it, but you owe me one, grandpa.” The old man mumbled something but Jo was looking at Sam. “You! Come with me.” She started walking and Sam looked up at Bobby.

“Go on kid, Jo won’t wait for you.” San nodded and mumbled a thank you then ran after the girl.

They exited the room by a door hidden in the shadows ands before going any further, Jo turned around, nose to nose with Sam. “Crowley’s office is on the top floor. Until then, you stay right behind me, you don’t look at anyone and you shut your cakehole all right?” Sam nodded and the girl took a step back, eying him a moment. “Well, let’s go then, dude.”

They took stairs and ladder at first, narrow and dark corridors where they had to stick to the walls to let other employees pass. Then there was more light, more space in the corridor and small elevators. Sam could hear music, smell food. Sometimes, the floor would tremble and loud screams, yells or laugher were heard but Jo never stopped, chin up and eyes dismissive. Sam thought that they would reach Crowley’s office without any trouble when, while they were waiting for the last elevator ride, one of Jo’s coworker accosted her.

“Hey Jo, smelling funny ‘round here huh?” Sam went rigid but Jo stepped quickly in front of him.

“Yes, Ash, but that’s because you never shower.” The elevator’s door opened at this moment with a soft chime and Jo pushed Sam inside, pushed the up button and hastily removed her arm before the doors closed. It was when the elevator started going up that Sam noticed he wasn’t alone. Behind him, a moose was standing on his rear legs, trinkets of leaves and seeds hanging from its antlers. Sam couldn’t look away, mouth agape and slightly scared while the animal didn’t seemed bothered by him and kept on chewing grass, looking peacefully at him.

Thankfully, the elevator soon stopped and the doors opened on a dimly lit hall. Sam let his head out, looking right and left, uncertain. He felt the moose lean over him and do the same thing, trinkets clicking softly. It then pushed Sam gently out of the elevator and pushed the down button. The door closed and Sam was left alone.

The hall was covered in carpets and, here and there, pedestals were supporting vases or statuettes. There was a door at the end of the vestibule and Sam walked to it. Sam tried to open it but none of the panels would move. Suddenly, the imp-shaped knocker started to move. “Don’t you know how to knock, kid?” Sam stared at it and stepped back when the door, and many others behind it, opened. A shiver ran through his body when a disembodied voice rand out.

“Come in.”

Before Sam could start walking, he felt something grip his sweat-shirt and pull him forward. He crossed rooms and rooms, heard the doors slamming closed behind him and finally stumbled into an office when the force let go of him. Three black clouds surrounded him, one with white eyes, one other with red ones and the third with yellow ones. They circled around him, blinking, sizzling. “Oh please, quit with the whining. I need silence. Why I ever keep you morons is a mystery.”

The voice had come from the back of the room where a man, all dressed in black, sat behind a huge desk, counting pile of gold coins. It was Crowley, it could only be him. There was something malicious and powerful about the man, if he really was one, that made Sam tense all over again and he gulped. He felt completely powerless, like the only time he had been send to the principal’s office after a fight. Only when his father had come get him had he felt he wasn’t going to be eaten. Thinking about his dad, Sam shook himself and spoke up.

“Please, let me work here.”

Crowley looked up with an ironic smile. “Oh, that’s so cute. But see, this isn’t the place for a weak, mangy human boy like you. This is a fine establishment of really high standing, you know? There are gods, magical entities and beings older than your country coming here to rest and feast. This isn’t a place you and your redneck family can barge into freely without consequences!”

“I want to work here,” Sam interrupted Crowley and the man’s face reddened in anger.

“How dare you…”

“I want to work here!”

Crowley suddenly appeared right in front of Sam, crowding him, and when he talked flames escaped from his mouth. “Do you really think I’ve got work for some petulant self-centered irritating brat like you? You couldn’t complete even the simple task asked of…”

“Sweat daddy o’ miiiiiiine,” a girl sing-songed loudly, her voice as clear as if she was in the same room.

“Oh bugger,” muttered Crowley, looking somewhere over Sam shoulder. “I’m in here, sweetie.” Crowley’s voice was now disgustingly sweet and he was frantically searching for something in the room, the black clouds keeping out of his way by migrating toward the ceiling. Sam heard doors opening and closing and Crowley’s apparent stress increased each time the sound moved closer.

“I want to work here!” Crowley looked at Sam in exasperation.

“Will you shut up? You won’t work here so get the hell out of here would you?”

“Daddyyyyyy… have you got my present?” the girl’s voice boomed again.

“Yes I have!” answered Crowley before resuming his search, tearing drawers down, sending objects flying around the room. Sam barely contained a snigger that brought Crowley’s attention back to him. “I said get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here,” the man hissed through clenched teeth.

A few minutes ago, Sam would have been afraid, but now it only made him more stubborn and he repeated again. “I want to work here.” Face crimson and eyes bulging, Crowley seemed seconds away from exploding yet he took a deep breath through his nose and sent a piece of paper and a pen flying toward Sam with a snap of his finger.

“You want to work here? Fine. Write your name on this.” Sam tried to read what was written on it but it wasn’t in English and… “No time for the small characters boy, just write your name at the… ah ha!”

Crowley had a knife in his hand and looked pleased. He went to the door, opened it and went into the other room with a “Hey there, sweetie…” Crowley’s daughter must have reached this room too but Sam couldn’t make out their conversation and he crouched, put the contract on his thigh and wrote his name on it. When he was done, he waited a bit before leaning forward to try and catch a glimpse of Crowley and his daughter through the half open door. He caught a glimpse of long blond hair, an arm in dark red leather before Crowley’s face as the man went back in his office, closing the door behind him.

Sam held out the piece of paper and Crowley took it on his way to his desk. The man sat in a leather chair and snapped his fingers. The room started to tidy itself, objects flying back to their respective place, papers and coins rearranging themselves in neat piles, drawers sliding back into position while Crowley read Sam’s contract. “Why oh why did I ever agree to give job to anyone asking for it, I’ll always wonder. Now look at your name, Samuel Winchester huh? Well now…” Crowley ran his hand over Sam’s name and the teen saw all the letters of it, except the three first ones of his name, lift themselves of the piece of paper. “You’re only Sam. You got that Sam?” The teen didn’t really understand. He had always been Sam, just Sam and nothing else. Not wanting to anger his boss, he nodded. Crowley gave him a crooked smile and snapped his finger once again. Cas appeared next to Sam who frowned at the blank expression his friend wore. “Cas, little Sam here just signed his contract. Get him downstairs and show him the ropes et cetera et cetera.” Crowley dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Sam felt his elbow being gripped, then like his whole body was compressed and he blinked hard when he realized he was now in another room.

“What is your name?” asked Cas, not looking at Sam. The teen gaped and Cas repeated his question. “Your name, boy?”

“It’s Sam but yo…”

“Follow me Sam, I’ll show you your new quarters.” Dumbfounded, Sam followed Cas through a couple of stairs. They passed through crowded corridors where people and creatures made way for them, casting fearful looks at Cas and curious ones at Sam. They finally stopped in a small room and Sam noticed Jo between the eating people who all froze when they saw Cas. “This is Sam, he is going to work with you starting now.” All eyes shifted to the teen who smiled nervously.

Something snapped by his side then and Sam turned to see Cas had disappear. The next second, Jo was punching his shoulder. “Well I wouldn’t have bet on a runt like you but seems that you might not be that useless huh? I’ll show you the place, come on.” Jo grabbed two rolls off the table, shoved one in Sam’s hands and, after quickly introducing the other people in the room – “hey, that’s him I smelled up there,” said Ash – she took the teen for a grand tour.

It wasn’t much: the first room to eat, leading to the bathroom and then the dormitory, a long room with bunk beds lined up against one side and windows on the other. Jo was giving Sam sheets when he felt like asking her about Cas. “Two Cas’? Are you crazy? Just one is enough, thank you very much. The guy’s a pain in the ass so two of him… no way.” She shivered in disgust and gave Sam a pillow and a comforter. “And don’t go trusting him, he’s Crowley’s right hand man. Got it?” Head mostly hidden by the pile of linen, Sam murmured a weak okay and walked back to his new bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters were moving, again, and Sam wasn't happy about it. And to make it worse, his dad took a wrong turn and they ended in a forest, blocked by a strange totem guarding a tunnel. And of course, his dad and brother had to go explore it, leading them all somewhere that Sam was sure wasn't Nebraska anymore.

After Jo had gone back to work, Sam made his bed and sat on it. For the first time since he had got out the car, he felt like he could breathe. He concentrated on that, inhaling, exhaling, his eyes shut and his fists slowly unclenching on his jeans. When he opened his eyes, he stayed silent a moment but couldn’t stop the nervous laughter that shook him a few seconds before sadness washed over him. Sitting straight, he fought back the tears. He wasn’t a cry baby and he would be mocked endlessly if Dean… Sam inhaled a shaky breathe at the thought of his brother and took a moment to calm his mind. He was going to save them, just they wait and see. Sam stood then and quickly undressed. He fell asleep the moment his head touched his pillow.

            He was back in Lawrence, in Missouri’s garden. He could hear her telling Dean off for whatever mischief he had done. The summer heat soaked his body as he lay under a tree, book and toys forgotten by his side. He didn’t jump when someone put a hand on his shoulder, just smiled. He felt safe, protected. “Join me by the bridge. I’ll take you to see your father and brother.” Sam frowned and opened his eyes to see the underside of the bunk bed above his own. He sighed and lay immobile. His dream, that had been their last summer in Lawrence. He had been motherless by November and they had moved out by February. But the voice in his dream, that had been Cas’ voice.

            Sam jumped out of bed and searched for his clothes but instead found the same blue coveralls Jo and her – their – coworkers wore. It took him 15 minutes to get to the bridge, silently leaving the dormitory, finding his way back to the boiler room, passing a sleeping Bobby and climbing the dreadful staircase. But Cas wasn’t there. Sam leaned on the guardrail, looking as a bus passed underneath it. When he looked up, Cas was at his side, smiling at him and Sam forgot the cold attitude his friend had given him the night before.

            Cas guided Sam into the town, taking him to what looked like a small zoo. Most of the animals were farm animals – pigs, rabbits, ducks – but in the back there were some tigers, alligators but Sam only had eyes for the last pen where a bunch of bears were sleeping. Sam ran toward it, gripping the bars of the pen they were in. “Dean? Dad?” he called.

“They are there,” answered Cas, pointing at two bears in the back. One was rolled in a loose ball, the second sprawled by its side and Sam trotted closer to them.

“Dean, Dad, it’s me, Sam! Come on you guys, wake up now.” But the two bears didn’t move and Sam leaned his head against the bars.

“They are sleeping. They ate too much and forget they were even humans,” said Cas who had caught up with the teen. Sam turned fearful eyes to his friend and then back at his family.

 “What is going to happen to them?”

“They will be either trained to entertain clients or sold to the mines in the north.” Sam crouched down and stuck an arm between the pen’s bars, stretching it toward his brother. The position was uncomfortable but he could brush his fingertips against Dean’s furry leg.

“Dean, I hope you can teach dad how to be funny because I don’t want you to go in the mine,” murmured Sam. “And you’re in for a big I told you so when you’re back to normal.” The bears didn’t stir and Sam slowly stood up and left the strange menagerie.

            He stopped in a kitchen garden and crouched down nest to a small hedge, flinching slightly when he felt Cas crouch beside him. “I got these back for you, but you better keep them hidden.” Sam looked up at his friend and then at his clothes the older boy was giving him. Sam didn’t know where Cas had kept them until then but he took his clothes anyway, hugging them, frowning when he heard the sound of paper being crumpled. Searching through his clothes, he withdrew a card from his jean’s pocket and read it aloud.

“To Samuel Winchester, may this journey accompany you on yours, Bill Wyatt. It’s… Samuel Winchester… it’s me. It’s my name. I forgot it. How could I…” Sam turned toward Cas who looked at him gently.

“Crowley steals names to keep us under his power.” Sam remembered what had happened after he had written his name on the contract the night before. “But you must not say your real name to anyone. You have to keep it secret. You will need it to go back where you came from,” added Cas, face now stern. Sam nodded and looked at his friend with concern.

“What about you, Cas?”

“I forgot it, like most of us here, but I could still remember you, I don’t know why…” The two boys stayed silence a moment. Cas finally turned around and picked some raspberries from the hedge behind them, giving some to Sam.

            Later, Cas walked Sam back to the bridge. “I have some errands to run, but I trust you will find your way back without trouble.” Sam smiled. “I know trouble and how to deal with it, I’m a Winchester after all.” Cas didn’t seem to understand and tilted his head on the side a moment. Sam smiled grew bigger. “See you then.” The young man nodded. “See you, Sam.” Sam turned around and walked back to the building. He stopped at the other side of the bridge to wave Cas goodbye but his friend wasn’t there anymore. Something caught his eyes then and Sam looked up at the sky where something that looked like a big white bird was flying away.

            Sam went down the stairs and into the boiler room. Bobby was still asleep but a few ghosts were aimlessly floating around. They approached him as soon as they saw him, swaying slightly in front of him. “Hu… Hi? I suppose you don’t know where I could hide my clothes?” whispered Sam. For a few seconds, the ghosts kept swaying but one suddenly zapped to the left, the other following him. Careful not to make a sound, Sam went after them, finding them by an old unused wood-stove at the back of the room. “Are you sure?” The ghosts seemed to nod and Sam put his clothes on top of the stove then opened the stove’s door. It shrieked and Sam was afraid Bobby would wake up but no thunderous voice yelled at him. The teen then placed his clothes inside the stove and closed the door. The ghosts walked him back and Sam waved them goodbye before going back to his room and back to sleep.

            Jo woke him again around noon and, after a brief breakfast and a rapid shower, they all went upstairs to start working. Their job mostly consisted of cleaning the place: dusting, sweeping the floor and the windows, rearranging rooms and furniture, cleaning pools and refurnishing the massage rooms. Sam was familiar with most of the chores but even the biggest house his family had ever stayed at wasn’t bigger than a thousandth of this building. Sam smiled when people from the kitchen brought them food, signaling a break but was horrified when he and Jo saw the state the sauna they had to wash was in.

            The room was littered with skin colored jell-o, goo and what looked like vomit? There were lengths of fur and splatters of blood covering the wall. And the stench and the… was that a… “Is that an ear?” shrieked Sam. Jo nodded and made a sound of disgust.

“Last people in there must have been shapeshifters. They… change shapes, leaving old skin and stuff behind.” Sam looked back at what he thought was jell-o and felt sick. _‘They will try their best to make you leave.’_ Echoed Cas voice in Sam’s head. Tightening his grip on his broom, Sam took a deep breath and went to work.

            It took them hours to clean the room, filling buckets with skin, hair and other things they would rather not think of while trying not to add more work by barfing, scrubbing the wall to get rid of the blood. They even had to ask for a ladder when they saw some blood had landed on the ceiling and had finished by the time the doors opened for the first clients.

            Jo and Sam were downstairs, putting plates of food in dumbwaiter, salivating at the smell and the sight of the dishes when something happened. At first, it was some whispers, rumors relayed by employees, hearsays that were so twisted by the grape-vine they didn’t make any senses. Then, the temperature dropped a few degrees and the usual low hubbub of patrons they could usually hear ceased. As the temperature kept dropping slowly, every employee progressively stopped working, looking at each other in confusion.

            Everybody yelped and jumped when Crowley appeared out of nowhere and Sam gulped when the man turned toward him, a sardonic smile on his lips. “Sam, my boy, I was searching for you.” Sam looked at his boss warily as he put an arm around his shoulders. “We have a… how to say that? Ha, a particular patron, coming our way and you…” Crowley patted Sam shoulder “Are the man I need.” Crowley smiled again. “How does it sound for you Sam? Great isn’t it? Nice, meet me in the entry hall then, and don’t make me wait.” Crowley disappeared and all eyes shifted to Sam who squared his shoulders and walked toward the stairs.

            When Sam reached the entry hall, the doors where wide open, letting a cold wind in. Stopping a step behind Crowley, Sam noticed the bellhop hiding behind potted plants and the silence. Only the hiss of the wind was piercing it. The lights of the town below had been turned off and he could only see as far as the middle of the bridge. As the temperature turned cold, Sam saw a few snowflakes twirling in the air and then a tall and dark figure walked out of the darkness. “Listen to me now, boy. This is an old soul and it’s always better to let them in even if… You’ll take him to the farthest sauna and treat him with respect. Understood?” Crowley was standing still but tense, his voice barely a whisper. Sam nodded and clenched his chattering teeth.

            Sam could see more of the client now that he had come closer to the building and its lights. It looked like a man, a tall one but his eyes were cold and old, his smirk malicious, and even though ice covered the ground around him, freezing and melting as he walked, burns covered his face. When he reached the door, Crowley bowed slightly and Sam followed suit. His boss then pushed Sam who, thanks to his ‘little brother training’, didn’t stumble much and Sam held a shaky hand toward the inside of the house and managed a shaky “This way please.”

            Never looking up to the man’s face and trying hard not to shiver too much, Sam led the patron to the most secluded sauna. While the old soul was in the adjacent changing room, Sam hopped in place, blowing on his fingers, and then hurried into the sauna when he realized he had to increase the heat. When the man went in a light fog surrounded him instantly and Sam would have been pleased to see that the ice on the ground was now reduced to a smaller perimeter, or surprised of the absence of sweat, but the teen’s eyes were fixed on the burns covering the man’s back.

His dad had had burns like that too when their house had burned down with his mother in it all those years ago. He remembered helping Dean put cream on the blisters, his father’s back so huge and so sad. Before he could think about it, Sam took a step in the sauna, his hair and coveralls immediately stuck to his skin with sweat and, as the patron sat on the bench inside, surprised himself by asking “Would you like something for your burns?” The old soul looked at him with amusement in his eyes and Sam felt a blush covering his face. “Why not” answered the being. His voice was low and soft but the buzzing in Sam’s ear would stay well into the night.

Stepping back and closing the door, Sam almost jumped when Crowley appeared by his side. Jo and other coworkers crowded at the end of the small corridor, looking curiously at him. Looking up at his boss, Sam brushed his wet bangs out of his eyes and tried to dry his hands on his damp coverall. “I umm I need a lotion against burns?” Crowley frowned but clapped his hands once, a small container appearing between them that he then handed to Sam.

Going back inside the sauna, Sam tensed under the patron’s eyes, feeling like the being could read his soul, but walked and sat by his side. The container opened with a soft pop and the client turned slightly, presenting his back to Sam who sat closer. Taking some lotion in his hands, Sam started massaging the wounded skin. It was a strange sensation, the skin uneven, rough and cold, so cold. Sam felt like he was being squeezed between an iceberg and the sun, his fingers freezing against the man’s back and his own back boiling in the heat of the sauna.

But the more he worked the more right he felt, serenity washing over him as the old soul started to glow softly. Sam kept massaging, not paying attention to the shouts coming from outside as the glow increased, becoming brighter and brighter until Sam had to close his eyes and raise his arms in front of his face. There was a soft sound then, like a bird opening his wings, like something he remembered from his childhood. It was followed by a shrill noise that made all the lamps explode and then, nothing.

Sam waited a bit before opening his eyes. It was dark but some light was coming from inside one of his fist. Lowering his arms, he opened his hand to find a small vial filled with a shining blue liquid. Shaking it gently, the fluid shone brighter and the light get caught on some yellow bead on the bench. The sauna’s door opened then and Crowley came in the room, a flame burning above his palm. Behind him, Jo and another employee were carrying candles. The room started to sparkle, the light of the flames getting caught on a million of golden specks. “Is that…?” started Crowley, bending to retrieve one of the nuggets. He inspected it closely, surprise then greed flashing in his eyes. He spent the next minute yelling around, ordering that the gold had to be gathered and brought to his office and people better not try to steal anything from him if they didn’t want to wind up as dinner. Sam tensed when Crowley stepped closer to him, eyes fixed on the vial. His boss reached out for it but stopped a few inches away before dropping his hands. “Get to work too, will you.”

Later after work, Sam sat by the window in the dormitory, following the light of the bus as it traveled down below and the moon shone on them. When Jo sat by his side, he smiled at her and nibbled the muffin she gave him. “I didn’t see Cas this evening,” he told her and she shrugged.

“It happens. Crowley sends him on mission sometimes.” Sam nodded and took another bite of his cake. Shifting, he got the vial out if his pocket and shook it, the liquid inside shining softly.

“What do you think it is?” Sam asked, turning to a half-asleep Jo.

“Dunno. Magical flashlight? Glow in the dark lamp for you not to be scared at night?” Sam snorted and kicked her chair. Behind them, their coworkers were getting ready to sleep and Sam finished his muffin in silence. Maybe the liquid was a medicine of some sort. Maybe it would change Dean and his dad back into humans.

Once in bed, Sam lulled himself to sleep with memories of the Impala’s rumble and Beatles’ songs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters were moving, again, and Sam wasn't happy about it. And to make it worse, his dad took a wrong turn and they ended in a forest, blocked by a strange totem guarding a tunnel. And of course, his dad and brother had to go explore it, leading them all somewhere that Sam was sure wasn't Nebraska anymore.

            Sam was alone in the room when he woke up and the sun was shining bright and high through the windows. Jumping out of bed and in his coveralls, Sam ran to the dining room. He stopped there, eyes caught by a red card sitting next to a couple of bagels on the table. Before he knew it, he was sitting and eating, reading the note Jo had let him. “We got a raise thanks to you, so we let you sleep while we repaired ALL the lights.”

            Sam was about to join his coworkers, rising from his seat, when a flash of white in the sky drew him to the window. It was the same weird bird he had seen the day before, and it was being followed by a mass of smaller white birds, hunting and attacking it. As they came closer to the window, he saw that the weird bird was a more of a chimera. The wings were of a bird, as were the four legs, but they were attached to a feline body, white fur and long tail while the face was wolf-like with blue blue eyes.

            Sam opened the window and screamed, “Cas! This way! Come on!” The teen wasn’t sure why he knew it was Cas or if his friend had heard him, but the chimera flew left and right, trying to lose its attackers and then dove toward the window. Sam jumped to the side as Cas flew past him and crashed in the opposite wall, slumping to the ground as the teen tried to close the window. The attackers, which were in fact origami cranes, crashed against it, pushing back as they tried to enter but Sam finally closed the window. The few cranes that had managed to slip in crashed to the ground, weakly shaking their wings. Ignoring them, Sam moved slowly toward Cas, noting the blood that marred his fur and feather and dripped on the floor.

            “Cas? Is that really you?” The chimera wasn’t moving, just breathed rapidly, looking all around him like a scared animal. Sam stopped in tracks when its eyes locked on him and it showed its teeth. The teen crouched down, showing his hands, talking softly. “You’re safe now. The… birds, cranes, they’re gone. You’re sa…” The chimera jumped forward and rushed to the window. It burst through it, pieces of glasses and drops of blood flying everywhere. Sam had just the time to run after him, leaning carefully over the broken window to see his friend disappear into the top floor. “That can’t be good,” murmured Sam. Thinking of Cas and his wounds in Crowley’s office, the teen felt anxiety creet into him. Rushing to the door, Sam didn’t hear the rustling of paper a crane made as it unfolded itself and flew to stick itself on the teen’s back.

            Sam ran up the stairs but, approaching the last story of the employee area, had to duck under the stair to avoid a group of coworkers. He stayed hidden and silent as they passed, rethinking his way up. He couldn’t lose time playing hide and seek with the other employees as he walked up to Crowley’s office by the inside. The only way to not risk getting caught was the ladder fixed to the outside wall he had seen earlier. Making up his mind, Sam carefully walked to the nearest window, eyeing the ladder and moving to a window closer to it. Opening it, he took a deep breath and leaned outside, climbing out of the window and onto the ladder, firmly keeping his eyes just a few rungs up.

            When Sam finally toppled over the railway onto the balcony surrounding the top floor, his arms and legs were aching and his lungs burned. He would have like nothing more than to lay there a few minutes but Cas needed him. Crouching, he kept close to the wall and moved slowly toward Crowley’s office. He stopped and hid behind a potted plant when he heard his boss’ voice coming from open French windows. “…don’t care who is at fault, I… Now listen to me, you incompetent moron, you stop doing whatever the hell you’re doing and wait for me.” Sam winced at the sound of the receiver being slammed on the telephone. “I’m surrounded by bloody wankers. You, get rid of Cas, I don’t need him anymore.”

            Hearing the name of his friend, Sam tried to peer into the room. Crowley was gone and something invisible was pushing an unconscious Cas toward a hole in the ground while the three black clouds were floating over it.

“Well, well, well. Seems like we’re not going to see little Cassie anymore. Ooh, how sad.” Sam jumped and turned around. A young woman leaned over him, long blond hair framing her smirking face, malicious eyes looking inside the office. Sam recognized her voice: it was the one he’d heard when he signed his contract, Crowley’s daughter’s voice. She suddenly looked down at him and the teen jumped to his feet and ran to Crowley’s office. She laughed and ran after him. “Playing tag? A bit childish but I like it.” Sam turned abruptly inside, going straight to Cas batting away the black clouds diving at him. His friend was about to be thrown in the hole and Sam fell to the ground, gripping his forelegs and pulling back.

            Things happened quickly then. The thing that was pushing Cas stopped and turned to Sam, its breath so horrid the teen almost gagged as Crowley’s daughter fisted her hand in the back of his coveralls and pulled him. No one noticed the square of paper lifting off Sam’s back and fluttering away. It touched the floor and a loud bang resounded, freezing all the room’s occupants.

            “Look like some are having fun in there.” They all turned around. Standing over a square of paper, a brown haired woman in a jeans and shirt was looking at them with an amused smirk. She was slightly transparent but didn’t seem to care. “My, Ruby, you turned into a beautiful young lady since the last time I saw you.” Her voice dripped with irony and Crowley’s daughter let go of Sam and surged toward the intruder. The older woman just laughed and sidestepped the attack, snapping her finger and Ruby shrank quickly. Her hair became black and she seemed to turn younger, her clothes falling on the floor as they became too big. When it stopped, she seemed no older than five or six years old and her T-shirt looked like a badly cut dress.

            Something surged past Sam then, the invisible thing that had been pushing Cas, but the woman avoided it too and, with another snap of her fingers, it became a visible black Labrador puppy. The three black clouds didn’t move but were transformed too, merging together, their shape shifting to look like the older blonde Ruby. “There, much better.” said the witch. The puppy had joined little girl Ruby as the woman now approached Sam and Cas. She didn’t look amused anymore and the teen moved to be between her and Cas, putting an arm around his friend’s neck.

“Who are you?” asked Sam as the witch stop right in front of him.

“Me? Ellen Harvelle. Crowley’s thorn in the side. And thanks to you, I am know in his office. The old fart, I’d like to see his face when he’ll see what I’ve done to his precious baby girl.” The witch fell silent, suddenly pained. Sam frowned as the woman whispered something about not being able to help her own… The teen didn’t catch the end of it and the witch had already snapped out of her mood, poking him in the chest. “Now boy, I stop playing. The angel is mine!”

“Angel? What? No, you can’t!” protested Sam, clinging more to Cas’ body.

“Can and will. He’s a thief. He stole my seal and I intend to get it back.”

“Cas would never do that!” The witch raised her eyebrow, looking down at Sam with disdain.

“Oh you think so? And what kind of angel enslaves himself on earth for more power huh? Now out of the way. He hasn’t got much time to live anyway. It’s not like I leave my property unprotected.”

Screams and barks halted the witch as she was plunging for Cas and she turned around. The fake Ruby was chasing after the real one, who was throwing object to defend herself with one arm and carrying the puppy in the other. The witch tssked but, as she turned once more toward Cas, he woke up and whipped the piece of paper she had appeared onto with his tail, cutting it in two pieces. “Damn!” was the last word she said before exploding into tiny specks of light. Momentarily blinded, Sam just had the time to record small arms circling his waist before Cas fainted again and toppled over in the hole, bringing the teen, Ruby and the puppy with him.

They were falling in the dark. Sam tried to wake up the angel, screaming his name but his friend remained unconscious. He looked around, barely able to see the walls around him. Ruby wriggled on his back, making him slide underneath Cas and he linked his legs around the angel by reflex. Something strange happened then, a feeling of flying instead of falling and of hot air rushing on his arms and forehead, the sound of a roaring fire. It lasted for a second and Sam swore he saw flames. Sam screamed again, joined by Ruby and her puppy, and again when, turning his head, he saw strange shadows rising up from the bottom of the well.

“CAS!” The angel opened his eyes this time and spread his wings. He flapped them with force and Sam feared for a moment that he couldn’t make it, that they were too heavy. But as the first shadow was about to claw at them, Cas straightened up and flew toward the wall. They were an opening there, a small tunnel so narrow the angel had to fold his wings and run. Sam held tight to him and felt Ruby little arms tighten again around him. The puppy howled, and as Sam saw the end of the tunnel approach, he closed his eyes and buried his face in Cas’ fur.

This time, the fall was short and they smashed sideway on the ground.

“Balls!”

Sam opened his eyes at Bobby’s curse and sat up, careful not to squash either Cas or Ruby. His side ached and he felt dizzy, not sure if the ghosts floating over them were real or just the result of the fall. When the world stopped spinning, he noticed Bobby rolling out of a small elevator next to his platform and towards him. Sam felt Ruby sit up too, checking the puppy, and the teen turned to the angel. “Cas? Cas, wake up, please!”

“Move aside boy,” said Bobby, his wheelchair stopping with a screech. Sam shuffled aside staying close to his friend as the old man leaned over him. The teen tensed with fear when Bobby leaned back on his chair, looking helpless. “I’m sorry boy, but there’s nothing I can do. The thing eating him from the inside is too powerful for me.”

“What? No! It can’t…” Sam crowded next to Cas, putting his head on his lap and gently stroking the fur. Ruby sat next to him and awkwardly patted Cas’ neck before hugging the Labrador puppy. Even the ghosts seemed morose and floated low above the ground.

Suddenly, Sam sat up straight and reached for his pocket, taking out the vial of blue liquid he had been given the day before by his customer. He vaguely heard Bobby asking him what it was but he ignored him, uncapping the vial with his teeth while trying to open Cas’ mouth with his other hand. Keeping it open, the teen managed to poor half the liquid in Cas’ mouth before the angel suddenly woke up and thrashed around. Sam reacted quickly, stuffing the vial between his teeth and encircling his friend’s mouth with his hands, forcing him to drink the liquid.

Sam finally let go of Cas when he reared back and crashed down, spitting black goo before slumping on the ground. The black goo melted, revealing a black worm sitting on the seal. “That’s the thing I was talking about. Don’t let him go!” yelled Bobby as it tried to flee, sliding quickly on the flour. Sam surged to his feet, running after it and, after a few try, finally stomped on it. It made a horrible splashing sound, black liquid splashing all around.

“Gross,”  Sam said, as a shiver ran down his spine. He grimaced at Bobby when the old man rolled himself next to the teen, looking at the mess with disgust.

“Only one thing to do to be sure it stays that way,” Bobby said, getting a Ziploc of white-grey powder, what looked like a small bottle of gas and a match-box out of some pocket on the side of his wheel chair and onto his lap. “We salt ‘n burn it. I’m afraid your shoe has to go too. Just to be sure, you know.” Sam opened his eyes wide and stared at his shoe, lifting it to look at the goo encrusted in the sole. Sighing, he sat down and untied it as Bobby poured salt and gas over the worm’s remnant and then Sam’s shoe before lighting it all with a match.

They let it burn, Sam getting rid of his other shoe before coming back to sit next to Cas. Bobby rolled after him while keeping an eye on Ruby, who stood near the fire. “Is Cas… is Cas an angel?” asked Sam. Bobby grunted.

“Yep. They got different forms. This one though, I’m not sure you’d be able to see it in your world without your eyes burning.” Sam hummed in agreement and bent down to take the seal in his hand.

“That must be what Cas stole from Ellen Harvelle.”

“Ellen Harvelle?” shouted Bobby. “Hot damn! You really don’t want to be on the bad side of this lady. Cas, you idjit.”

They both jumped when Cas’ body chose this moment to revert to human form, his wings being the last things to disappear. While Sam crouched down to turn his friend on his back, putting the seal in his pocket, the older man made the ghosts bring a blanket to cover the angel. Sam laid it on his friend then took the bottle of water Bobby held out to him. “Holy water. Should help him get better.” The teen took the bottle and made Cas drink from it, wiping what was dripping out of his friend’s mouth with his sleeve. “He came here seven or eight years ago, upset, wanting to be more powerful. He thought Crowley would help him but… he just became his handyman.” Sam smoothed black curls of hair back from Cas’ sweaty forehead in a gesture he had often received from Dean.

“Bobby, sir?” Sam looked up at Bobby who nodded. “Will you look after Cas while I’m bringing the seal to Ellen Harvelle?”

“You want to go to her? Are you crazy?”

“Please sir. Cas saved my life and maybe Ellen Harvelle knows how to save him, I have to go ask her. Do you know where I can find her? Please?”

“Boy…” sighed Bobby.

“It’s Sam.”

“Sam…” The teen looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping that what his brother called his ‘puppy eyes’ would work on the old man. It seemed it worked, Bobby grumbling a “Fine!” and wheeling away to his platform. Sam looked at him as the small elevator took the wheelchair up on the platform.

They were sounds of drawer opening and closing, papers being ruffled. “Yahtzee!” Bobby finally said and Sam stood up. He walked toward the platform as Bobby was getting down again. The old man shook a string of bus tickets in front of Sam’s face but pulled them out of the way when the teen reached his hand to grab them. “To go to Ellen Harvelle, you’ll have to take the bus. The stop is the sixth one, the Roadhouse one. Don’t miss it, the bus only rides one way. You’ll have to walk back here. Got it?”

“Got it, sir. Thank you.” Sam took the tickets, pocketing them carefully. “I’ll go now.”

“With what shoes?” Sam gasped and looked at his feet. He had forgotten his lack of shoes and his face grew hot. Bobby laughed, rolling to the cupboard under his platform and rummaged in it. “While I’m searching for shoes, go put on your own clothes.” Sam froze. “I know everything that happen in here, boy. Now shoo.”

When Sam walked back a few minutes later, dresses in his own clothes with vial, tickets, seal and Mr. Wyatt’s card secured in his trouser pocket, Ruby was wearing a T-shirt and a sweatshirt her size, cropped jeans and was doing up the Velcro of her sneakers. Bobby gave him a pair of boots and Sam was surprised to see they were just his size. He checked one last time that he had all he needed and stood in front of Bobby. “Look like you’re ready to go. The bus stop is down the building. You go the same way you ended up here the first time, going down the stairs instead of up this time. Here, I packed you some snacks.” Sam took the satchel Bobby gave to him and slid the strap on his shoulder. Thanking Bobby again, the teen cast a last look at Cas and walked to the door. A small hand caught his as he opened the door and he looked down at Ruby and the puppy standing next to her.

“You want to go with me?” The little girl nodded and stepped forward, tugging on Sam’s arm. The teen looked back at Bobby who shrugged and Sam waved him good-bye.

It was sunny and warm outside, already mid-afternoon, and by the time they arrived at the bus stop, they were thirsty and the puppy was panting heavily. They took a drink and, by the time Sam put the bottle back in the satchel, the bus stopped next to them. Sam helped Ruby and the puppy up the steps and handed the driver the tickets. “We’re going to the Roadhouse stop.” Without a word, the man punched the tickets and gave them back to Sam, jerking a thumb toward the inside of the bus. Sam and Ruby walked up the small central alley, wobbling a little when the bus took off, and sat down somewhere in the middle, the little girl and the puppy gluing their faces to the window as Sam leaned back on his seat.


	5. chapitre 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchesters were moving, again, and Sam wasn't happy about it. And to make it worse, his dad took a wrong turn and they ended in a forest, blocked by a strange totem guarding a tunnel. And of course, his dad and brother had to go explore it, leading them all somewhere that Sam was sure wasn't Nebraska anymore.

Night was falling. The bus was mostly empty and Ruby and the puppy were asleep, the little girl drooling on Sam’s lap. He gently shook her awake when the driver stopped and announced they were at the Roadhouse stop. It was just the start of a path, with an old rusty sign where you could barely read anything anymore. Sam kept his eyes on the bus as it drove away, not so sure anymore if his idea had been a good one. They were alone with the sounds of the frogs and the soft hoot of an owl and the path of the Roadhouse led to a dark forest. Ruby crowded next to Sam and he took her hand in his. They stayed there a moment, looking at the wood, and then Sam straightened himself. “Nothing’s gonna happen,” he murmured as he started walking.

            Nothing happened. They crossed the wood, breathing easier when they got out of it and could see a house at the end of the road. Light was coming from the windows and the name Roadhouse was painted in bold letters on a sign over the door. Two beat up cars were parked on the side and a broom rested on the wall next to the door. Stopping in front of it, Sam hesitated, not knowing if he should knock or not. His dilemma was resolved when the door opened to reveal Ellen Harvelle. Sam stuttered some words and he felt Ruby and the puppy hide behind him but the witch just smiled. “It’s okay kid, I’m not going to eat you. Or your young charges. Come on in y’all, we don’t want you to catch a cold.”

            They went inside, following Ellen Harvelle through the bar and into her own kitchen. It was a bar like any other bar Sam had seen his father walk into. Tables, pool tables, dart board, jukebox, the few patrons barely glanced at them and kept drinking their beers. The kitchen was homier, golden yellow walls, a door leading to a garden, some kids drawing and notes on the fridge. The witch made them sit down at the table and produced a large plate of fries. Ruby went all starry eyes and squealed in delight when Ellen Harvelle put ketchup and drinks on the table. Sam looked as the little girl emptied the ketchup in a small dish and attacked the fries, only tearing his eyes away when the witch sat next to him.

            “Err… ma’am…”

“It’s Ellen, kid. You’re not hungry?” Sam looked at the fries. He was hungry now, but he had something else to do. Putting the seal on the table, he pushed it toward Ellen.

“I came to bring you this.” The witch put her hand on her seal, gently stroking it.

“That’s really nice of you, kid. Wasn’t it too hard? Uncomfortable?” Sam frowned and looked at the small gold stick.

“No… is it about the worm that was attached to it? I stomped on it.”

“Black worm? Stomped…?” Ellen burst into laughter. Sam, Ruby and the puppy, who had been gnawing at a fries, all jumped at the sound.

Ellen laughed and laughed, her laughter so loud at one point that the lamp above them and the bottle on the table started to shake. When she calmed down, she wiped her eyes and patted Sam shoulder. “Kid, the worm, that was Crowley’s doing. Something to keep that friend of yours in line. You did by yourself what you came to ask me. Now eat or your little friend won’t leave you anything.” The little girl had two fries in her ketchup-covered mouth and some other in her hand. Sam smiled and picked some fries.

“Will you turn them back?”

“The spell is already broken; they can turn back if that’s what they want.” But Ruby wasn’t paying attention, feeding the pup instead.

When they finished the fries, Ellen brought out an apple pie. The sight of it made Sam’s insides squeeze. Dean loved pie. When he was in the mood, his father often joked that pie had been Dean’s first word. The first mouthful almost made him weep and he found himself babbling his story while Ruby picked at her slice and Ellen sipped a beer. When he was finished, the witch cast a quick look at Ruby now sitting on the ground and sleepily playing with the puppy before speaking. “Crowley is a damn s.o.b. if you want my opinion. He’s been trying for years to buy my land. Better magic wave or something. What a dick. His place would have better mojo too if he stopped doing such dark stuff. But even if he’s doing funny business, I can’t intervene. That’s the goddamn rule ‘round here and I’m sorry I can’t do anything to help your family. But I’m sure you’ll end up saving them, I have faith in you, kid.” Sam nodded sadly, collecting the crumbs from his slice of pie with his finger.

“A penny for your thoughts.” Ellen was smiling at him and Sam had the feeling his mom would have smiled at him like that too.

“It’s Cas… I feel like I know him, like we already met long before I came here… but I can’t remember.”

“Everything that happens to us is carved inside us. The both of you can’t remember where you first met right now, but it will come back.” The witch gave Sam a one armed hug and the teen smiled softly. On the other side of the table, Ruby had stood up and looked at them with sulky eyes. “I think it’s time to give this little one a wash. Would you mind tidying the table for me?” asked Ellen as she stood up and guided Ruby to the sink. Sam was cleaning the table with a sponge, Ruby playing with the pup again in a corner of the room when Ellen turned toward the door leading to the garden. “Seems like your ride is here.” she announced and Sam frowned at her. The witch smirked and opened the door.

Tail switching back and forth, Cas was waiting outside. Sam ran to hug him. “You’re here, you’re healed. Cas, I’m so happy…” The angel purred, rubbing his face against Sam’s head before stilling. Sam turned around and saw Cas fixing Ellen with an apprehensive look. The witch just smiled and walked closer

“Angel, I hope you’ve learned a thing or two from stealing a witch, don’t you?” Cas looked down. “You have a good heart. You’ll find your way back,” added Ellen, softly scratching the angel behind an ear. The angel leaned hesitantly under the touch and looked warily at Ruby standing near Ellen’s leg. The little girl looked back at him and Cas shook himself and flapped his wings. He bumped into Sam then, silently asking him to climb on his back. “Seems like it’s time to go,” said Ellen. “But before you leave, I’ve got something for you.” Sam stepped away from Cas and closer to the witch. She passed a necklace over his head, letting a small golden horned head rest on his torso. Sam fingered it, feeling it smooth and warm. “It’s a simple amulet, not really powerful, more like a lucky charm.” The teen looked up and suddenly hugged Ellen. The witch laughed and petted his hair.

“I’m Sam by the way, Samuel Winchester.”

“Well Sam, it had been a real pleasure.” Sam stepped back with a smile and trotted to Cas, climbing carefully on his back. The angel then pointed at Ruby who shook her head no. It took some coaxing but Ruby had finally climbed behind Sam, the puppy secured between them and, as Sam waved at Ellen, Cas reared back and ran. When he had picked enough speed, he spread his wings, flapped his wings once, twice and took off.

They were high in the sky, basking in the almost full moon light, the wind lashing at their faces. The stars were shining above them and they could see the earth beneath them, all small houses and thin roads. It was then that Sam felt it again, this strange sensation of déjà-vu. Memories flooded his mind. The house in fire, the screams, his screams, his father pushing him to Dean, his brother lifting him, carrying him outside. And suddenly, Cas’ face above Dean’s shoulder, scooping them up in his arms and flying them to the street away from the house. He had surrounded them with his wings, shielding them from the explosion, and then disappeared. No one had believed Sam when he talked about the angel that had saved him and his brother. Doctors talked about coping mechanisms. His father and brother looked at him with eyes full of anger and sadness every time he talked about it. Only Missouri, who had taken them in, had accepted it, showing him books and books about angels. Sam had looked through them until he had found his own.

Sam felt tears gather in his eyes and he tightened his hold on Cas. He had found him again. “Cas? I remember Cas. I remember. Our house was on fire, my mom died but you saved us, my brother and me, took us away from the fire and the explosion. You saved us. And I remember your name now. It’s Castiel! Castiel!” Sam felt Castiel freeze then. The angel’s fur shone brightly and scattered away revealing Cas in his human form. It was so sudden that Sam didn’t realize he wasn’t holding his friend anymore immediately. But Ruby let go of him with a gasp and Sam took in that they were falling. “Castiel” yelled Sam, and it seemed enough to wake up the angel.

Wings appeared on his back and Cas flapped them, pirouetting and catching Sam by the waist, turning him around so that the teen could put his arms around his neck. The teen exhaled and looked for Ruby but the little girl seemed fine, flying on her own. She stuck her tongue out and cradled the yipping puppy closer to her chest. Cas’ soft laugh caught Sam attention and he looked up at the angel. “She is a witch too Sam. She was just being lazy and wanting attention.” Sam snorted and held tighter onto Cas, looking at the stars above him. “Sam?” murmured the angel and the teen hummed softly. “Thank you, for reminding me of my name.”

“You’re welcome Cas, it’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”

“I’m sorry for your mother… she prayed for you to be saved, that’s why I was sent. But I wasn’t able to go back in time to save her too.”

“It’s okay Cas.”

“I felt so powerless, so angry and lost…”

“Cas?”

“I went to Crowley. I had heard that he was powerful and I thought I could learn more and…” Sam put a hand on Castiel’s face to make him look at him and smiled

“Cas, really, it’s okay. ‘s not your fault. I miss her, a lot, and I wish she was still alive but it’s not your fault.” Cas stayed silent, just looked at Sam with eyes full of sadness. The teen smiled a little bit more and the angel finally smiled too. It was the moment Ruby choose to bump into them before speeding up. Encouraged by Sam, Cas gave her chase and they pirouetted into the sky as it was getting lighter.

It was bright morning when they landed. They set down before the bridge, Crowley standing on the other side in front of two lines of bears. Sam took a sharp breath as he watched the animals but looked away when Ruby started running toward her father. The latter first looked at her with disgust before realizing who she was and took her in his arm. The little girl chose this moment to turn back to her fully grown form and almost sent the falling to the floor. Crowley managed to stay upright but the puppy had charged after his mistress and turned back too, becoming invisible once again. And big, and so father and daughter hit the ground quite violently. Laughter erupted and Sam looked at the employees massed on either side of the bears and waved at Jo before focusing again on the bears.

“When I woke up at Bobby’s, Crowley was here, searching for Ruby. I swore to bring her back if he promised to free you and your family,” said Cas next to Sam.

“And that’s what I’m going to do,” interrupted Crowley now standing up slightly ruffled. “But only if you pass this little test,” he added wriggling his finger in direction of the bears. Sam felt Cas tense beside him and put a hand on his friend’s arm. “Oh, you thought I’d let him go so easily? My dear Cas tt-tt… I fix the rules around here.” Sam sighed and, after smiling at Castiel, walked up to Crowley and looked at him in his eyes. His boss smirked and held up a piece of paper. “This is your contract. Now, all you have to do is find your brother and father and you’re all free. It should be really easy so you only have one chance. And if you lose, well…” Sam clenched his teeth and turned to the bears.

He looked at each animal carefully, and then once again. They all looked almost the same but he knew he could recognize his brother and father. Ellen had said that everything that happened to us was carved inside us and he had remembered Castiel in the end, hadn’t he? If his family was here, he should know, but he felt nothing. Where were… Sam turned to Crowley. “They’re not here.” Crowley raised an eyebrow.

“Is that your final word?”

“Yes,” said Sam without hesitation. The contract exploded like a firecracker then, all the bears turning back into employees that cheered and applauded with the rest of them. Even Ruby clapped her hands lazily while her father looked livid. Sam waved and smiled at them, running to Cas. The angel started running too, leading Sam down the stairs to the main street of the village. “Your father and brother have already left, they are waiting for you further away,” said the angel as they sprinted down the street.

They stopped at the top of the last stairway. There wasn’t water anymore; it was just the meadow Sam had crossed when he had first arrived. It looked peaceful, the wind drawing patterns on the grass. Squinting his eyes, he could even see the backs of his brother and father walking away. Sam looked at Cas, a big smile on his face and his friend smiled back at him.

“I can’t go any further.” Sam lost his smile and opened his mouth but Cas stopped him. “I still have matters to take care of here. But we will see each other again.”

“Promise?”

"I promise.” They stayed immobile for a moment before looking back at the meadow. “There is one more thing before you go.” Cas voice was a soft murmur. “Until you cross the tunnel, you can’t look back.”

“Like Orpheus?” Castiel smiled and nodded.

“I am sure you will be wiser than him.” Sam laughed softly and brushed his hair back behind an ear. “I think you humans shake hands in this kind of situation.” Sam looked at Cas and then at the hand his friend extended toward him and bypassed it to hug him. Stepping back, he smiled at Cas one last time and turned, fixing his eyes in front of him and going down the stair.

He stayed focused, crossing the dry riverbed, following the path in the meadow and then… “Sammy!” Sam looked up at Dean. He was waiting with their father next to the tree tunnel. Sam jogged and almost bumped into Dean. He looked at them, his brother, his father. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Dean punched him in the shoulder, bringing him back to reality. “Hey Sammy, back with us again? Did you fall asleep or something?” Sam frowned at his mocking brother but said nothing. He suddenly felt like it had been just a dream and he almost turned his head to look behind. He stopped himself when Dean called again. Their father was already walking into the tunnel, Dean right behind him and Sam sprinted to catch them up. “Watch out, Sammy,” hissed his brother when he almost ran into him. Sam stayed close to his big brother and, when they walked out of the tunnel, it felt like going out of the water.

“The car!” yelled his father, immediately echoed by Dean who ran to the vehicle. Sam looked around him. The Impala was covered by dust and dead leaves and the grass was much taller than when they had left. The trees’ foliage looked thicker and the forest itself denser.

The darkness of the tree tunnel shocked him when he turned around and he raised his hand to the amulet Ellen gave him. He could feel it in his hand and the reality of it made him breathe easier. The rumble of the Impala at his back startled him and he ran to it when Dean yelled another “Sammy!” Sitting in the middle of the back seat he looked at the tunnel disappearing as his dad made his way back in reverse. He slumped on the side when they were finally back on the road, looking at nothing. He heard Dean asking him something, concern in his voice, surely if he was fine. He nodded vaguely, batting away the hand that mussed his hair and opened the window. The wind on his face reminded him of flying and he closed his eyes.

_“We will see each other again.”_

_“Promise?”_

_“Promise.”_

The End


End file.
